SPEC ASST ATTY GENERAL

State of careers Rhode Island

6d • $89,210 - $101,050 • Onsite

About The Position

The Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General is seeking an attorney with significant health care experience to help further the work of the Office’s Health Care Unit. The Attorney General is the state’s top lawyer and law enforcement official, protecting and serving the people and interests of Rhode Island through a broad range of duties. Every day, the Office’s attorneys fight to ensure the public safety of the state’s communities, improve the economic security of its citizens, safeguard the state’s spectacular natural resources, and restore the public’s trust in government. Assistant and Special Assistant Attorneys General represent the people of Rhode Island in civil and criminal matters before trial courts, appellate courts, and the supreme courts of Rhode Island and the United States. The Office is unique among attorneys general offices across the country. Out of fifty states, only two other offices share the same broad criminal mission. In addition to other Attorney General functions, the Office’s attorneys prosecute complex and violent crimes but also functionally serve as one of the nation’s largest district attorney’s offices, prosecuting all felonies throughout the state. The Civil Division leads affirmative and defensive litigation on behalf of the state, counsels the Attorney General and other government officials, and performs a range of regulatory duties. The Public Protection Bureau within the Civil Division is comprised of four units – Health Care, Consumer and Economic Justice, Environmental and Energy, and Civil Rights. The mission of the Health Care Unit within the Civil Division’s Public Protection Bureau is to contribute to improving individual and community health through a lens which recognizes the importance of the social determinants of health, our role as lawyers in ensuring equitable access to care, and the importance of maintaining an efficient marketplace among payors, providers, and people who require care. The Unit accomplishes its mission through targeted enforcement litigation, community outreach, and regulatory action. The Unit combines the authority vested in the Attorney General with powers under the Health Care Advocate and Insurance Advocate statutes.

Requirements

• A law degree from an accredited law school.
• Active member in good standing of the bar of any jurisdiction.
• Eligible for admission to the Rhode Island bar and prepared to sit for the bar exam (if not already a member of the Rhode Island Bar).
• Strong candidates will have a demonstrated commitment to public interest law.
• Working knowledge of state and federal health laws and regulations and health care payment and financing systems (e.g., Medicaid, Medicare, commercial insurance).
• Strong written, oral advocacy and negotiating skills.
• Ability to work well independently and as part of a team, including with other attorneys and support staff.
• Ability to work with other state government employees and communicate with members of the public is a must.
• Regular, reliable, and punctual in-person attendance at the employee's assigned worksite is an essential function of this position.
• Physical presence is required to ensure effective collaboration, supervision, access to secure or confidential materials, and operational continuity.

Nice To Haves

• At least five years of litigation or health care regulatory experience is preferred but not mandatory.
• Legal or policy experience in health care.
• An interest in creative legal thinking and a demonstrated ability to both envision and build on an organizational level.
• Bring innovative thinking to the ways in which the Office of the Attorney General can consistently and increasingly meet the needs of Rhode Island residents.

Responsibilities

• Support the identification and prioritization of potential Health Care Unit affirmative litigation and enforcement.
• Anticipate and understand current and emerging health care issues and look for opportunities to engage around those issues to protect Rhode Islanders and advance the mission of the Unit.
• Lead litigation or other health care investigations, rulemakings, regulatory actions and initiatives involving health insurers, health care providers, pharmaceutical/medical technology companies, pharmacy benefits managers, and other individuals and entities in the health care sector, in collaboration with others in the Unit or Civil Division.
• Engage with advocates and members of communities in Rhode Island to understand obstacles to health and health care.
• Identify policy thought-partners and resources to connect work being considered by the Health Care Unit with broader, policy-based research into drivers of consumer harm or inequity in health care.
• Work with the Public Information Officer and the Director of Community Engagement to engage with community members to identify needs and opportunities, and understand and communicate impact of ongoing work.
• Along with leadership in the RIAG, work with agency partners throughout State government.
• Opportunities for Special Assistant Attorneys General in the Civil Division also include attending National Association of Attorney General trainings and conferences throughout the country, serving on boards, commissions, working groups, and/or task forces as a designee of the Attorney General, providing substantive expertise to legislative or policy initiatives, and supervising student interns as part of the Office’s legal internship program.

Benefits

• For information regarding the benefits available to State of Rhode Island employees, please visit the Office of Employee Benefits' website at http://www.employeebenefits.ri.gov/.
• All employees hired after September 30, 2014 will be required to participate in the direct deposit system.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level